The State Water Resources Control Board (“SWRCB”) adopted a new Industrial General Permit (“General Permit”) on April 1, 2014, which replaces the 1997 version. Pursuant to the Federal Clean Water Act (“CWA”) sections 301 and 402, the General Permit authorizes...

Yogi Berra, the sage of baseball and life, once said, “It ain’t over until it’s over.” In many respects, that philosophy applies to district court patent infringement litigation that advances in parallel with proceedings in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to invalidate...

“Gypsy Swaps” are a transaction structure that has been employed by stock promoters for many years. When a private purchaser buys stock from an issuer in a private placement transaction, that private purchaser acquires restricted securities that he cannot immediately sell in the open...

The charity-focused startup is a business model that has become popular among entrepreneurs. In this model, the company creates some kind of internet-based platform for charitable giving and charges a transaction fee on the donations that it facilitates. It’s easy to see the appeal of these...

Licensed professionals, such as doctors, nurses, dentists, and real estate agents, to name a few, who are found guilty of driving under the influence (DUI) or other criminal offenses may find themselves fighting to retain their professional license. Likewise, applicants for professional licenses...

Smith & Wesson, the iconic American firearms manufacturer, settled a case on July 28, 2014, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for multiple violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). Fortunately for the rest of us, the case provides...

Encryption is more commonly becoming the recipe to avoiding the harsh consequences of a data breach. Some of those consequences include penalties for violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) and similar state laws, governmental enforcement actions...

With some exceptions, contracts for public works construction projects in California must be competitively bid and awarded to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. Generally speaking, a bid is “responsive” only if it promises to do what the public entity’s bid instructions...

The attorney-client privilege has been a part of Anglo-American jurisprudence for centuries. With the increased importance of globalization and the prevalence of cross-border transactions of all kinds, the availability of the privilege to protect the confidentiality of sensitive communications...

Southern Californians are struggling to cope with the significant losses and other challenges caused by the recent fires. Many employees were forced to miss work due to mandatory evacuations or due to school closures. Employers in several areas were asked by civil authorities to shut down...